Bush's job approval rating fell to an all-time low of 36 percent in a Quinnipiac College poll, dragged down by concerns over his handling of Iraq and the war on terrorism. The poll showed Bush's public approval sliding from 40 percent in a December survey. The Quinnipiac poll tracks a CBS News poll released Feb. 27 that showed the president's approval rating hitting low mark for his term in office of 34 percent. For the first time in a Quinnipiac poll, a majority of the public, 52 percent, disapproves of the way Bush is handling terrorism, an issue that has been a strength for the president. Sixty percent disapproves of the way he is handling Iraq. The war was most frequently cited as the top problem facing the country, mentioned by 23 percent of those polled, followed by economic concerns and terrorism at 13 percent and 11 percent respectively. ... http://quote.bloomberg.com

On his first trip to India, President Bush and his Indian counterpart agreed Thursday on a landmark nuclear energy agreement that deepens ties between the world's oldest and largest democracies. Bush acknowledged it will be difficult to persuade Congress to support the agreement, in which the United States would share its nuclear know-how and fuel with India. But he said he's confident it will be approved so India can power its fast-growing economy without expanding world demand for oil. Critics in Congress say the United States is making an exception for India, which has nuclear weapons but won't sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "Proliferation is certainly a concern and a part of our discussions, and we've got a good-faith gesture by the Indian government that I'll be able to take to the Congress," Bush said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1679573&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

A Colorado school is in upheaval following the suspension of a teacher who was recorded comparing President Bush's rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler. More than 100 students at Overland High School in Aurora, Colo., walked out of class this morning to protest the decision to put geography teacher Jay Bennish on administrative leave. The school administration made the move after a student went public with a 20-minute recording of Bennish's comments to his class. In the tape, the teacher is heard saying there were similarities between remarks Bush made in his State of the Union address and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say."...http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1679439&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Iran's top nuclear negotiator on Thursday insisted that bilateral talks should continue on a Russian offer to enrich uranium for Iran and warned that handing over the nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council — as the United States has demanded — would kill Moscow's initiative. "America is lying, trying to destroy the Russian proposal," Ali Larijani said at a news conference. "The Americans' insistence on handing over the Iranian nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council means the destruction of the Russian proposal." Larijani said his team had put forward a "package proposal" in Wednesday's talks in Moscow, denying that the discussions had ended in failure. "We need to give diplomats time to look at it," he said. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/02/world/main1362360.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=World_1362360

Hundreds of bodies showing signs of torture or execution arrive at the Baghdad mortuary each month, a senior UN official has told the BBC. John Pace, until recently UN human rights chief in Iraq, told the BBC News website that up to 75% of the corpses showed signs of extrajudicial death. Mr Pace blamed an "endemic" breakdown of security for increasing violence. "Anyone with a gun who is reasonably well organised can do whatever they want with impunity," he said. Armed groups often threatened mortuary staff, aiming to stop autopsies and suppress evidence, Mr Pace said. Iraq has seen a jump in apparently sectarian violence since the bombing last week of a Shia Muslim shrine in the city of Samarra. But Mr Pace played down suggestions that Iraq was heading towards civil war, blaming a political vacuum and the collapse of law and order - rather than a generalised Shia-Sunni split - for the escalating violence. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4765854.stm

The European Central Bank has raised its key interest rate to 2.5%, in response to a strengthening eurozone economy and fears of growing inflation. The quarter-point rise from 2.25% is the second in four months, after the bank had held rates steady at 2% for more than two years. Last month, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank would remain "vigilant" on inflationary pressures. He said the ECB had to ensure economic growth did not affect price stability. Persistently high oil prices have posed the most significant threat to inflation. The eurozone's economic outlook for 2006 is mixed, but some of its largest economies, including France and Germany, are expected to gain momentum, with reports indicating that business and consumer confidence is running high. In its last forecast the ECB predicted economic growth of 1.9% across the 12-member eurozone bloc in 2006, compared with 1.4% last year. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4766840.stm